Apoptosis induction by concanavalin A in gut cells of grain aphid

Iwona Sprawka,Hubert Sytykiewicz,Tina Parzych,Paweł Czerniewicz,Sylwia Goławska

doi:10.1007/s11829-015-9356-1

Iwona Sprawka, Hubert Sytykiewicz + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1007/s11829-015-9356-1

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Abstract

In this study, the toxicity and mechanism of action of concanavalin A (ConA) in the grain aphid (Sitobion avenae) were studied. Feeding assays with S. avenae on an artificial diet containing different concentrations of ConA demonstrated an inhibitory effect on fecundity as well as high mortality caused by this lectin. ConA also increased the pre-reproductive period and the development time and reduced the intrinsic rate of natural increase. Moreover, an extract of the gut of treated S. avenae demonstrated an increase in caspase-3 activity together with DNA fragmentation, suggesting that ConA can induce the apoptotic pathway. These results suggest that ConA may be detrimental in insect gut tissues and the interaction of ConA with epithelial cells may be responsible for the observed insecticidal effects.

Highlights

Plant lectins are defined as proteins possessing at least one non-catalytic domain, which binds reversibly to specific mono- or oligo-saccharides
These results suggest that concanavalin A (ConA) may be detrimental in insect gut tissues and the interaction of ConA with epithelial cells may be responsible for the observed insecticidal effects
The analysis showed an effect of increasing the concentration of the lectin ConA

Summary

Introduction

Plant lectins are defined as proteins possessing at least one non-catalytic domain, which binds reversibly to specific mono- or oligo-saccharides. These proteins can have severe effects on fecundity, growth, and development of an insect. Ultrastructural studies have shown that lectins can bind to gut epithelial cells in a number of pest species (Habibi et al 2000; Fitches et al 2001; Hopkins and Harper 2001; Sauvion et al 2004; Majumder et al 2004), which can cause damage to epithelial cells and disruption of nutrient assimilation (Michiels et al 2010). Concanavalin A (ConA) has been found to bind to the entire digestive tract of the pea aphid Acyrthosiphon pisum and causes morphological changes to epithelial cells as well as increased secretion and detachment of the apical membrane (Sauvion et al 2004). Clear morphological changes in midgut microvilli were observed after the uptake of wheat germ agglutinin (WGA) in the larval midgut of Drosophila melanogaster (Li et al 2009)

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